NCAA Men's College World Series 2024: ESPN's Cameras Take Viewers Deeper Into Wild Atmosphere in Omaha MindFly BodyCam, UmpCam, live drone, and aggressive mic placement highlight a loaded production plan By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, June 17, 2024 - 3:37 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
June in Omaha is a sports television tradition.
The relationship between the NCAA Men's College World Series and ESPN traces back to the roots of live sports on cable TV. The Worldwide Leader has been broadcasting games of this event since 1980 - less than a year after the network first went on the air. And yet, one could already make a strong argument that this 2024 edition might be the most exciting MCWS ever.
Camera operator Shane Marshall captures North Carolina's Vance Honeycut following his walkoff home run at the NCAA Men's College World Series on Friday. (Photo: Josh Lavallee/ESPN Images)
Walk off winners in the first three games of the dual double-elimination bracket tournament for the first time ever.; the second cycle in series history; and iconic defensive plays in the outfield lit up the opening weekend. And that's not even touching on the innovation that ESPN has brought to cover all of the excitement of this star-studded field.
College baseball and the Men's College World Series as a whole continue to thrive, says Phil Orlins, VP, Production at ESPN. Viewership and the scope of the production continue to increase each year. The long run of MCWS has always made this a great place to try new technology and in recent years the NCAA and the umpires have been great partners in allowing us to bring the coverage closer to the action than ever before.
On Board With Blue A wealth of resources has been made available at Charles Schwab Field Omaha Schwab for the production team headed up by Scott Gustafson, ESPN's production lead for college baseball. Most notable among the specialty camera lineup at this year's MCWS are the return of the RF UmpCam worn on the mask of the home plate umpire and the debut of the Mindfly AI BodyCam on the chests of the first and second base umps.
An umpire wears the Mindfly AI BodyCam during a game at the 2024 NCAA Men's College World Series. (Photo: Josh Lavallee/ESPN Images)
The MindFly BodyCam gets us unprecedented access and intimate views, says Orlins. The chest mount with AI stabilization provides a comfortable and smooth viewing experience while bringing the viewer onto the playing field like never before.
Here's a clip of the Mindfly AI BodyCam in action:
--
The Mindfly BodyCam vest, which is worn underneath the umpire's top shirt, is a system that has become increasingly popular at ESPN over the past month. It was worn by a backup goalie during pregame skate prior to a Stanley Cup Final game and by a referee during a UFL Playoff game.
UmpCam - which is proved by 3G Wireless - is being made available on the UmpCast AltCast on ESPN+ for all games, before getting the promotion to ESPNU for the Finals.
On the Field and In the Skies The front bench working in the truck in Omaha producer Bill Palladino, directors Scott Johnson and Jeff Evers, technical director Bob Yodice, and associate directors Brian Zwolinski and Heather Wilson are also painting gorgeous pictures all week long thanks to continued expansion of cameras that has established themselves at this event.
An angle that has become a staple at this event - and made its debut at the Women's College World Series earlier this month - is the on-field shallow depth-of-field cinematic camera.
On-field camera operator Shane Marshall with his rig on the field during the 2024 Men's College World Series.
(Photo: Joshua R. Gateley/ESPN Images)
This year's rig, which is operated by cameraman Shane Marshall, is a Sony A7 on a Ronan gimbal. It has permission from the NCAA to be in the dugouts and make its way out onto the field to track action during moments when the ball isn't live, including following a home run hitter around third and to home plate and pitchers coming off the field after closing out an inning.
The College World Series offers a unique stage where the stakes are so high and the players are so animated, and the Shallow Depth' is the perfect camera to bring this high drama home to the viewer, says Evers. [This] is a special setting for this camera because Shane is allowed to operate the camera in the dugout while play is going on. This gives us the ability to capture unique angles and images of players and coaches that we would not be allowed to capture in an MLB game.
A pair of NEP Fletcher Nucleus 4K pan-and-scan robotics are recording at 240 fps (frames-per-second). This one pictured is shooting down the third baseline. (Photo Courtesy: Phil Orlins/ESPN)
Meanwhile, up in the Omaha skies, a live drone returns as part of the arsenal, acquiring atmosphere from the city, as well as the stadium. Its most aggressive move has been in being able to fly above the playing field and escort in a pitcher entering from the bullpen.
We were successful in launching that initiative last year and the results were spectacular, says Evers. The images were incredibly powerful. This year, with the help of the NCAA, we are going to try a couple of additional drone movements inside the stadium to further bring the viewer at home closer to the experience of being in the stadium.
The drone, which pilot Mike Shea operates, is a product of ESPN's internal drone group.
ESPN's camera plan at the 2024 NCAA Men's College World Series includes seven super slow-mo cameras and four large lens manned cameras. (Photo: Joshua R. Gateley/ESPN Images)
ESPN operations has secured three hotel rooftops, as well as space at the Omaha Convention Center, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridg
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/01/2026
Sports and Music Unite: A Look Back at the Operationally Ambitious FIFA Club Wor...
12/01/2026
Nielsen Panel Discussion Highlights World Cup Impact for FOX, Telemundo, MetLife...
12/01/2026
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and B...
12/01/2026
Baltimore Ravens' Jack Dana on Telling a Better Story With Media Management ...
12/01/2026
FOX Sports' Brad Cheney on Spectrum Debate's Impact on the Sports-Produc...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Nominations open for the fifth Australia for UNHCR - SBS Les Murray Award for Re...
12/01/2026
Australia and New Zealand VP Alan Clements shares L3Harris' leadership insig...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years Featuring Grammy-winning alumna Arooj Aftab, the milestone concert and weeklong festival marks four de...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
WWE By the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
From left to right: Rey Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion John Cena and Sheamus celebr...
12/01/2026
Welcome to the AVECO team: introducing new members of management
At AVECO, we are continuing to implement our #newAVECO strategy, which aims to build an even s...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
10/01/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
10/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
10/01/2026
Back to All News
Connection and Youth Defined: The Ramparts of Ice Brings a Hea...
09/01/2026
Rock-It Sports' Deron Brown & Laura Rowlands on Launching a New Brand, Suppl...
09/01/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on the Broadcaster's First French O...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: CBS Sports Travels to Jacksonville With Packed Arsenal of Pro...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: NBC Sports Is Set To Roll Out New Scorebar, Insert Graphics T...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: Prime Video Production Team Caps Historic Season With Iconic ...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: FOX Sports Kicks Off Postseason Slate With Two-Game Wild Card...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: ESPN's Run Brings Monday Night Football' Flagship Op...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today introduced the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning...
09/01/2026
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, today announced the appointment of Chris Pulis as Group Chief Technology...
09/01/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced several updates to its board of directors. As part of HPA s annual governance cycle, new leadership...
09/01/2026
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that Simon Eldridge has been appointed chief operating officer. In thi...
09/01/2026
Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning ST 2110 and SDI signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initi...
09/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, announces that its market-proven ATSC 3.0 software stack is powering the broadcast functionality of ...
09/01/2026
Amino, a global leader in enterprise video and digital signage technology, today announced a strategic partnership with Xibo, a leading global digital signage s...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
NCAA Men's College World Series 2024: ESPN's Cameras Take Viewers Deeper Into Wild Atmosphere in Omaha MindFly BodyCam, UmpCam, live drone, and aggressive mic placement highlight a loaded production plan By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
